House Science Panel Firms Up Its Plan to Expand NSF
The U.S. Congress today
took another step toward doubling the budget of the National Science Foundation (NSF) over 5 years, with the science committee of the House of Representatives
unanimously approving legislation to reauthorize the agency’s programs. The House committee’s work overlaps in part with a bill passed last week by the Senate that gives NSF a primary role in strengthening the U.S. research enterprise so the United States can better compete against China and the rest of the world. Both the House and Senate bills would rapidly grow the $8.5 billion agency, as well as give it a new technology directorate aimed at accelerating the commercial application of academic research. Both bills also call for tightening oversight of NSF-funded research to block adversaries from gaining improper access to the results. However, the House bill (
H.R. 2225) takes a much more targeted approach to bolstering federal research than does the Senate bill (
S. 1260). (
Science Magazine - June 15, 2021)